Joyride

The Collector's emporium was a strange place. Quill didn't like it the first time they were here with the power stone. The Guardians had barely made it out alive when a girl grabbed the stone causing everything to either blow up or be straight up vapourised. This emporium was a different one however and yet it was still just as unnerving with cubes holding various plants and animals. Some sentient others lifeless.

The door the Collector's office opened and the esoteric man stood with a creepy look on his face "I assume you're here with the requested item." He raised a brow "Yeah. Now we want payment." Rocket tossed the small device to the collector who looked at with awe "Fascinating. Now the payment we discussed." He placed the small device into a little silver box. "2,000 units." The man opens a draw.

"2,000? The deal with 4,000." Peter stepped forward "Yes but you only me one of the two requested items. I asked for the data and the living specimen." The Collector explained with a gesture of his hands. "What specimen?" Peter asked knowing that his friends and him were only contracted to find the one thing. "One of the few remaining symbiotic creatures on the planet. Their rarity leaves them at a high value and a most worthy addition to my emporium." He explained glaring at Peter.

"Nope there was nothing down there." Quill looked around nervously "Yes there was. The new one attached to your body." Drax mentioned nonchalantly "Interesting. Unlike other you still live even after the adjustment period." The collector stepped towards Peter but Gamora intervened. "You knew this was going to happen. You set us up!" She accused drawing a knife from her belt and holding it to his neck.

"While not a set up I was aware that the specimen would likely bond with one you to evade being discovered and this would likely end up in an...unfortunate loss yet you and it seem to possess a special kind of connection." The man explained. "Gee thanks. You sent us on a suicide mission for your stupid collection." Peter shook his head and sounding more like himself

"Can we eat his brain yet?" Venom asked keeping himself hidden "Yeah. Do it." Peter granted permission and felt the way Venom nearly vibrated with glee and hunger as the symbiote once again consumed his body. Venom stopped closer to the person that had once scared him but now he looked like an insect with a delicious brain. "Not yet, big guy." Rocket interrupted, annoying the symbiote.

"We need him to tell us where his units are." The -not- a racoon stated "Of course, such is fair compensation." Their contractor agreed. "I keep most of my currency in this safe here. " He entered a code and opened it slowly. "Step back." Gamora instructed but the man was sneaky swiftly pressing a button on a remote in the safe. As he did a piercingly loud ringing noise erupted from hidden speakers.

Venom screamed in agony as he tried to escape the noise by retreating back in to Quill's body leaving the captain's ears exposed to the noise the eventually had him on the floor, writhing. Each of the Guardians were in a different state of pain and yelling back. "It was a foolish leap of judgement to try and rob me." The collector was unaffected as he walked out the room.

Maybe it wasn't the best idea to leave the literal god and tree with no ears on the ship this time. Peter found the noise seemed to shred through his body and tear into wherever the symbiote tried to hide. Somewhere amongst the chaos he realised that the pain he was feeling was not only his own but also Venom's and he was sure the sensation was mutual.

In a moment a thought popped into his head. He could survive with at worst being deafened for life and some blood loss but the pain radiating of the symbiote felt like it was being killed. Peter shakily lowered his hands from his ears and wrapped them around himself in an attempt to protect the alien from the attack. Unbeknownst to peter symbiote had moments after left his body and speedily left the building in search of something to control in order to help his host.

The door was locked even as the sound ended he was weakened and hungry and the chance of being able to break it on his own was unlikely and trying to heal one of others to transform and then do the same would probably kill him. Slipping past the cracks, Venom was disheartened to have to leave one of the few hosts that had managed to bond with him successfully.

---

The Milano was a too far to move in Venom's small and gooey from so he spotted a nearby creature that reminded him of a creature he had seen in Peter's memories. A rat but this was hairless and had disproportionately large legs. A few minutes of hasty hopping and the possessed rat like creature arrived at the Milano's lowered entrance. At the sight of his objective, Venom knew what he had to do to the creature he was using.

The organs were small and the brain lacked substance, leaving the symbiote wanting more but it was controlled enough to keep going. It dumped the body and boarded the ship in search of another temporary but stronger host and he had the perfect idea.

The thunder god was working out in his room with stormbreaker resting against the wall. He grunted loudly as he raised himself above the bar and down again before repeating the motion. Venom didn't quite understand why he was doing this. Most of his knowledge of Thor came from Peter's memories and they were a convoluted mess of lasers, jobs and near death experiences.

Venom slithered closer to Thor and waited for him to end up near the ground again before jumping onto his leg, startling the Avenger. "Woah!" Thor stood on the floor and watched the black sludge spiral up his legs before spotting only for a second before diving past his clothed chest and into his body. "What the?" Thor patted at his chest bewildered at what happened but then felt as if something was touching his brain.

"He needs our help." Venom informed sharing information through the temporary link "Peter!" Thor exclaims seeing the image of his friends strewn across the floor of a cluttered room. "They tried to rob him but he had sonic noise. Quill tried to protect me but his fleshy ears are not strong. He need us." Venom explained and Thor accepted the task wordlessly as he called Stormbreaker to his hand as a suit of asgardian armour formed around himself.

Seems this host didn't require Venom's own power. The armour of norse myth was different, it sparked with the same power that seemed to flow through his flesh and blood. It was both similar in a way to the dormant spark within Peter's blood but also unique is its capability.

The god sieged the building like it was a viking raid, uncaring for the obstacles in his way and smashing his way past them until he wound up in a room filled with the unconscious bodied of Drax, Rabbit, Gamora and the lord of stars. "Peter!" Thor calls out running to the side of his friend and turning his unmoving body over. From what he could see Quill was breathing but what caught his eyes was the small trails of blood that leaked from his ears.

"We can fix this." Venom promised feeling Thor's anxiety and fear. He couldn't lose Quill or any of his friends. They were finally moving past that initial stage of resistance and were finally getting to see the other person's true colours. Thor looked around at the other three. Drax was wall of natural muscle and Gamora was a living weapon and yet it had still taken them down. Something wasn't quite right here.

That train of thought was cut off when he felt the cold symbiote slip past his armour as if it wasn't made of near indestructible magic. He felt Venom's worry but that soon stopped as the last of Venom's being had left his body and began to melt back into Peter's battered one. "Please be okay." Thor muttered before slowly placing Quill back down to inspect his allies.

Gamora and Rocket had explained to him that people certain implants while in space. Gamora's were designed to assist her in combat and Rocket didn't divulge what his were but had at least mentioned he had them. Thor hoped that they had helped them and not left them deafened or having the severity of sound damage their brains. Warriors like them didn't deserve to be taken out by brain hemorrhages.

They shifted and groaned eventually waking up slowly. "Thank Odin!" Thor exclaimed as relief flooded through him. "I'm going to tear out that douche's eyes." Rocket complained "Not before I rip his organs from his torso." Drax voed. "Shut up the pair of you." Gamora grunted slowly standing on disoriented legs. "Is everyone alright?" She asked checking over her teammates but upon see that Thor was suddenly here and looking disheartened she looked behind him.

"Peter!"

---

"Peter." The voice was so warm and welcoming.

"Peter." The voice was familiar and loving.

"Wake up, Peter." The voice instructed and he opened his eyes to see a dimly lit abyss surrounding him "Where...Where am I?" Star lord asked trying to figure out what dank hole he awoke in now. "Oh Peter, it's so good to see you. It's been so long." Then it clocked who the voice was.

"Mom?" He asked looking back to his see mom with a broad and love filled smile. Her hair was curled in a distinct 80s fashion. She wore a button-up plaid shirt and a pair of bootcut waist jeans. She looked so pretty and youthful, Nothing like the last time he had seen her. "Mom, is that really you?" Quill asked standing and turning to face with teary eyes. "Absolutely. We can finally be together again." She promised still smiling.

And Quill started to cry "We can't. Mom, you died." Peter feels like that little boy again. "I watched as the tumor dad put in you slowly killed." He continues and Meredith steps towards him and wipes the tears away with her thumb "Oh Petey, that doesn't matter to me. The important thing was that you were with me." She hold the sides of her son's face softly "And it's time for you to be with me again." She explains.

"I'm dead." Peter mutters depressingly "No, not yet but don't worry. I'll be here for you like you were for me." Meredith hugs Peter as he violently sobs "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He didn't know what he was apologising for "Peter, you've got nothing to be sorry. It was never your fault." His mother reassures as a faint white light began to grow in the distance.

"It's time, darling." Meredith takes a step back and holds Peter's hand to guide him towards the light but as he took a step he felt a weight on his leg. He looked down to see a small black creature, barely visible in the dark abyss. "Hey little guy." Peter mumbles "I think our time has come to an end." He adds pulling the warbling blob into his free hand.

"Peter." This time the voice wasn't his mother instead it was his other family. Gamora had called out to him and for a moment he turned from looking at his mom to see his other family. They acting in a manner that suited them: Chaotic. Gamora and drax were reeling to fight each other, Rocket and Nebula were exchanging bets on who would win as Groot and Mantis looked at each other confused while Thor laughed heartily.

The sight pulled at Quill's heartstrings causing him to let out more tears. They looked so happy without him. The symbiote in his hand jiggles again and after looking at it and looking back he sees that they were not without him. The image of him stood in the centre trying to break up the fight was only fitting with him impromptu leader role.

He had brought them all together one way or another. The originals were due to his theft of the power stone and soon enough contact and extermination of his father had enabled Mantis and Nebula to join shortly before they stumbled upon floating corpse in space a that turned out to be a lot more of a god than a corpse.

No, he couldn't just give up and die in some bauched robbery. Then again it didn't look like he had much choice. That sound could easily have ruptured him internal organs. Venom slithered into Quill's flesh. It startled him to feel the cold spread though his body once again but it was shortly replaced by a numbing warmth. It felt like being touched by light and a part of the tension left him.

"It seems your little friend has a different idea." His mom joked with a chuckle "We can help you." He heard Venom's voice say. "But I'm dead." Quill thought "Not yet." The symbiote argued as the thick darkness around began to clear into something lighter. "Tell your friends that I said hi, Petey" Meredith stepped closer to her son "I'm so proud of you." She began to shed a few tears herself.

Peter wordlessly hugged his mom with her returning the gesture lovingly "We're all so proud of who you are." She whispered "Thank you." Peter mumbelled "I miss you so much." He adds before they stepped apart. Meredith is still smiling past the tears "Go get him, tiger." She winks before she appears to be getting pulled into the white light from before. Peter sighs and says one last thing "Goodbye, Mom."

---

The next time he opened his eyes it felt as if he weighed nothing but and as if he was being dragged down by mountains of steel. His ears still rang faintly but he could make out the muffled sound of people talking. The light hurt his eyes but he could see someone with long blonde hair. An angel? For an angel they had a surprising amount of muscle definition.

The arms around him pull him closer causing his head to fall onto a strong shoulder. The sounds became slightly clear but once voice was as transparent as glass "We are glad you are okay." Venom sounded...sorry? "It's alright, bud. Let's just go home." Peter says in his head not trusting the words to come out in anything but a slur. He feels himself being pulled up from the floor and held in a bridal style carry.

Too dazed to do much other than try not to drool against whoever is carrying him, he lets himself be carried as he presses his cheek into the cool relief of solid armour.

---

 "When he wakes up again who knows how he's going to react or what he's going to do so just please wait before telling him what happened." Gamora requested "He may not act like it but he has a soft spot you. He had the same for me shortly after we first met but nothing came from it. It could be different for you." She added before thanking Thor and leaving.

He had been tasked with watching over their injured captain. From what they saw Quill had been clinically dead for somewhere between a few seconds to over a minute and that scared all of the wether they admitted it or not. Thor had been given the job of making sure that Peter stayed off his feet until he made a noticeable recovery. He watched from across the room as Quill slept fitfully.

The symbiote had described its ability to heal its host but having not eaten anything, apart from the rat creature, in months that ability had been significantly diminished but it would still try. Peter twitched, groaned and occasionally whimpered. The symbiote popped its head up and said one word "Hungry." And Thor got up to search the kitchen for something edible. While he did there was a bump in the vent followed by a critter and falling of fur. Odd.

The fridge swung open and a memory of Peter talking about the sweeth tooth he had as a child was recalled. He swiped a few of the brightly coloured bars, a bottle water, and some leftovers from their groups last dinner. The stash was quickly delivered and most of it devoured by Venom. It quickly dived back in and minutes later Peter was shifting awake. The captain was delirious and trying to figure out where he was.

Thor quietly moved to stand at the side of Quill's bed "Hey, you're okay. We helped you." Thor spoke softly and Peter looked at him "We?" He repeated confused when suddenly Venom appeared and nuzzled into Peter's stubbly facial hair "There you are little guy." Peter laughed at petted his symbiote's head as it acted like a happy cat with how it closed its eyes and made a purr like sound.

Thor was happy to see his friend was feeling better. The sight of Peter accompanied by his soft laugh made his stomach flutter. "Hey man, you look just as tired as I feel." Quill observed but Thor was quick to deny it "No, Don't worry about me, I'm alright." He said shaking his head "Then you'll be fine to lay down for a bit. If anything goes wrong we have Vee here to tell us." Peter made room on his bed for Thor to lay down if he so wished.

The god hesitated for a moment before nodding and joining his friend, thankful for the fact he had gone back to wearing his sweatpants and tank top. The bed wasn't foreign to the idea of two people on it but this wasn't some quick hookup, this was the beginning of something new.

The bed shifted under the addition of Thor's weight but it felt a lot more cosy compared to the one he slept on in his room. It was larger with higher quality materials. It was truly fit for a captain. Thor laid on his back and allowed Peter to come towards him and eventually settle on his side. "You're warm." he comments and snuggles closer which Thor finds adorable.

Meanwhile that is happening Venom combed through Peter's mind trying to figure out what a cat was since the he had been called one and that cheered his host up. They appeared to be small fluffy things with swishing tails and piercing eyes. They looked like tactile predators but the ones that Peter knew were soft playful things that liked scratches.

It kept himself attached to its host with a small tendril but used its mass to form into the shape of a feline with a distinct lack of fur being replaced with a glossy black and white skin. Yet neither seemed to mind as it settled down between the two soft bodies. "I'm starving." Peter's stomach grumbles before Thor has the time to reach over and grab one the brightly wrapped foods he saw. "I found this earlier." He offers the bar to Peter who eyes light up once he sees it.

"Where the hell did they find chocolate?" Peter gasps quickly unwrapping the 'Galaxy' Bar. Irony ignored. The captain broke the large bar of chocolate into three separate pieces. He places on his own chest and offered an other to Thor who inspected it curiously. meanwhile the last piece was offered to the sleepy looking cat-Venom who ate in one big bite. As the sweet was consumed both Peter and Venom felt a wave of something that could only be surmised as "really bloody good"

"Did that have the chemical thing you liked?" Peter asked through their bond and Venom answered with a simple "Yes." Before settling down again, content. Thor tasted the dark food and agreed that whatever it was, it was nice.

Silence befell them but it wasn't the uncomfortable silence that either of expected. instead it was calming as they looked each other in eye. Peter made the first move and leaned a little closer causing Thor to get the hint and match the movement. The kiss was everything he hoped it would be. A balance between Thor towering over him in a dominating manner but also an underlying manner of deep affection and care.

It was soft with enough edge of rough nature to have Quill desiring more. Thor makes a gruff noise but its muffled by the kiss shortly before it's broken and they part only by a few centimeters. Quill sighed softly and uttered a quiet "Finally." Before moving in to resumed to kiss much to Thor's approval.

The galaxy didn't feel so dark after that. Quill felt his life had become a little easier.

He had his family, he had thor and a new friend who seemed to be mirroring Peter's romantic behaviour as it formed its large monster hand and interlaced its fingers with Peter's.

He felt happy. True happiness.

-End of Chapter 2-